Apparatus for the manufacture of superphosphate



May 25, 1926 1,585,810

F.VW. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE Filed Jan. 10, 1921 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 25 1926.,

F'. w. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE Filed Jan. 10. 1921 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 25 1926.

F. W. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE Filed Jan. 10. 1921 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 X/wg/ May 25 1926.

F. W. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE 7 Sheets-Shed 4 Filed Jan.

May 25 1926.

F. W. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 10, 1921 May 25 1926.

F. W. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE Filed Jan. 10, 1921 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 llliI-ll ll IWJI II Illllllllll |||l ||:I\|lli May 25 1926. 1,585,810

F. W. R. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF S UPERPHOSPHATE Filed Jan. 10. 1921 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 M WWM W Patented May 25, 1926.

FREDERICK WILLIAM ROGERS WELIAMS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OI SUPEBPHOSI'HATE.

Application fil ed January 10, 1921. Seriatflo. 486,339.

This invention relates to the preparation of superphosphate by'the treatment of phosphate with an acid, andcomprises a plant wherein the acid and phosphate are we1 hed I separately and delivered into a mixer V cm which the mixture is discharged into a receiver provided with a disintegrating device arranged to deliver the superphosphate on tophate being conveyed to the hopper o the weigher. over and above that being passed over the weigher, as when the weigher is thrown out of operation. The mixer consists of a cylindrical vessel in which rotates t co-axially therewith, a shaft provided with a number of arms radially arrangedthereon. ings in the ends of the cylindrical vessel, and the cylindrical vessel is also mounted on W co-axial bearin s and provided with mechanism whereby it can be rotated in order todischarge its contents through an opening provided in a side which is turned into the uppermost position during the mixing operation.

The excavator is arranged on the end of a chassis having wheels mounted on railsand provided with means for moving it along the rails. The other end of the chassis carries an a framework on which is mounted a receiver consisting of hinged sides which extend downwards until they engage the sides of a block or platform fixed in the track between the rails, and having a vertical end piece of the same width and extending upwards to the height of the excavating cutters. The other end of the receiver is formed as a vertically removable door. The excavator proper consists of a rotary ower driven cutter mounted. on the chassis and so arranged that when the door of the receiver is raised and the chassis moved along the rails \it will advance against and gradually cut ,away the block of superphosphate formed ll injthe receiver on the fixed platform.

This central shaft is mounted in bear- In the invention as illustrated in. the accompanying drawings,

Figs. 1 and 1 comprise a eneral elevation of the ap aratus showing t e relative. positions of t e weighers, mlxers, receiver and excavator, a portion of the front side of the receiver being broken away to show the fixed end member. of the receiver.

Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation,

Fig. 4 an end view and Fig. 5 a plan of the mixer.

Fig. 6 is a view of the conveyor for feeding phosphate to the weigher.

In these drawings a is an acid tank, I) an automatic acid weigher, a a valve-controlled pipe leading from the acid tank to the weigher, 0 a pipe for conveying the weighed quantity of acid to a mixer e. a is an open ended pipe extending from the pipe at to a point above the level of the acid in the tank a, a is an acid valve in the-pipe a.

f is a hopper for feeding phosphate to an automatic weigher g, and from which it is delivered into the feeding hopper d. of the mixer e. p

h is a hopper for delivering the contents of the mixer 6 into a receiver z' from which it is excavated by a rotary cutting disintegrator 'j and discharged onto a delivery conveyor .m.

The receiver'c' and the rotary excavating cutter j are mounted on a chassis is having wheels [c running on rails is, and admitting of a traverse of the excavating cutter suflicient to deal with the full length of the block of superphosphate within the receiver The receiver consists of a fixed bottom n of concrete and end wall 91. arranged between the rails [0 The inner side'of the fixedend wall n is curved to the same curvature as formed by the cutting edges of the rotary excavator so'as to enable the excavator to deal with the whole of the block of superphosphate formed in the receiver. The sides i 2' of the receiver are hinged to a framework 70 and are held in position with their lower edges against the sides of the concrete bottom n and end wall 91. by means of locking members such as clamping screws or wedges arran ed between them and the framework 70 t e vertically movable end door i being detachably held in position against the side members i, i in a similar. manner. The excavating cutter j 110 consists of a number of cutters car-. ried by radial arms j'-j" secure to a vertical shaft 7" mounted in bearings 1n a framin on the chassis is. These radial arms yj also carry a number of fan blades j y" adapted to pass a current of air over the face of the superphosphate during the rotation of the cutters so as to remove moisture therefrom. On the shaft 9 is secured a bevel wheel is gearin with a bevel pinion is mounted on a sha driven by means of belt and ulley gear 70 -1 0 from an electric motor The chassis is of the receiver i and rotary excavator j is traversed on the rails 70 by means of racks is, k operated b worms in", is rotated by bevel earing 77 riven by the power belt pulleys 70 which are of different diameters so that a uick return of the chassis can be effected w en the belt is moved on to the small pulley In.

As the rotary excavator gradually cuts away the block of superphosphate 1t dehvers the cut material on to the conveyor '17 The mixer 6, (see Figures 3, 4 and 5) 1s provided with an outer casing ef, and 1ts main elements comprise a cylindrlcal drum 6 having an opening a The end members 6, e of the drum are bored to allow of a shaft 6 extending right through the axis of the drum. Secured on the portion of the shaft 6 within the drum 6 is a sleeve 6 from which extend radially a number of beater arms e e The boss e of the end a of the drum 6 extends through the casing e and has a journal a formed on it adapted to bear on a bearing 6". On the end of the boss 0 is secured a worm wheel 6 arranged to gear with a worm e mounted on a shaft 6 adapted to be driven from a source of power by the fixed driving pulley of the pair of fast and loose driving pulleys e, e. The boss 6 of the end e of the drum e extends through the casing e and has a journal 6 formed on it to run on a hearing 6 The shaft 6 is mounted in bearings e and e, and on its end is secured a bevel wheel 6 gearing with a bevel pinlon a secured on a shaft e driven by the fixed pulley of a pair of power driven pulleys 25 20 e is a delivery hopper secured to the mixer casing and provided with an inclined outlet 6 adapted to register with a similarly shaped inlet 6 formed on the top of the receiver 2' (see Fig. 1).

e" is a chain wheel adapted to drive by means of a chain 6 an indicating Wheel 6 arranged near the acid and phosphate weighers.

In Fig. 6, f is a screw conveyor for feeding the phosphate brought up from the storage bin by the conveyor f into the hopper f of the automatic weigher 9. Immediately under the screw conveyor f and parallel to it is am a second screwconveyor red to t conve 'r f by gear whee e f so that it will rotated 'm the o posite direction to f, any surplus phos ate not passing throughthe hopper f will t erefore be returned along theconveyor f and back down the chute f tothe storage bin. It will thus be seen that these conveyors can be kept in continuous operation and at the same time prevent waste which might otherwise be due to variations in speed of, or cessation of, the wei hing operations.

During the woriing of the plant the phosphate is conveyed from the storage bin by the elevating conveyor f into the worm conveyor f whlch delivers the material through the outlets f and f into the hopper f from which it is delivered to the automatic weigher g from which it is discharged throu h the hopper 11 into the mixer e. The acid cm the storage tank (1 passes through a pi e a into the acid weigher b from who it is discharged through the pipe d into the mixer e.

The weighed uantities of the acid and phosphate pass t rough thedrum opening 6 which is turned into the uppermost position by means of the worm and worm wheel gear 6 and e, and the fixed member of the power pulleys e, 6 The mixer arms c -e are now rotated by means of the bevel gear 6 and e and power pulleys e and e. These pulleys are driven by belt gearing e and e and an electric motor e. The same motor is arranged to drive the power pulleys e and e by means of the belt gearing 6 and a.

After the mixer has been in operation a sufficient length of time to produce a mixture of the desired consistency the drum rotating gear is operated suliiciently to bring the opening e of the drum into its lowest position and so discharge the mixture through the hopper h and outlet e and inlet 6 into the receiver 2', the chassis is having been previously moved along the rails 70 into such a position as to bring the inlet 6 and the outlet e into register. When the receiver is in this position the hinged sides i i of the receiver arefixed against the sides of the concrete slab n and the end door 1" of the receiver lowered into position on the concrete slab n, and wedged tightly against the sides i and i After the mixed phosphate has been allowed to stand a sullicient length of time to produce superphosphate of the desired consistency, the end door 71 is raised above the framing is, this is effected by means ofa cable and pulley gear i i, the sides 2' 2' are then loosened and the traversing gear and also the excavator rotating motor is, set in operation. The block of superphosphate is held while the traversing chassis advances the cutter gradually into it which removes the cut material on to the conveyor p. At the end of the cutting operation the .traverse of the chassis is reversed until the inlet e" on the top of the receiver is brought into register with the outlet e, and the mixing and filling opera- Vtions repeated until the receiver is again an acid weighing machine, a phosphate weighing machine, a mechanical phosphate fee er to the weighing machine having means for returning to the supply superfluous phosphate fed to the weigher, a mechanical mixer, a mixture receiver having a traversing portion provided with an inlet, means for'discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversing portion of the receiver, and valvecontrolled pipes for supplying acid to the weighing machine and weighed quantities therefrom to the mixer, the valves for controlling the delivery of the acid from the acid tank to the weighing machine and to the mixer being arranged to be operated by hand, the traversable portion of-the receiver being disconnectible from the mixer.

2. Apparatus for the preparation of superphosphate, comprising an acid tank, a valve-controlled outlet leading from said acid tank to the weighing an of a weighing machine, an automatic p osphate weigher, a mixer, a charging inlet to said mixer communicating with the said weighers, a pipe connection leading from said acid weigher to said mixer, a mixture receiver having a traversing portion provided with an inlet, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversing portion of the receiver, means for opening and closing said connection periodically to permit of the weighing and discharge operations respectively, the traversable portion of the receiver being disconnectible from the mixer and traversed during the discharge of the mixture from the receiver.

3. Apparatus for the preparation of superphosphate, comprising an acid tank, an automatic acid weigher, a phosphate wei her a mixer a su e hos hate receiv-- er, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means, for controlling the supply of acid from said acid tank to the pan of the automatic acid weigher, and means for supplying the weighed acid and phosphate to the mixer, an open ended pipe between the valve and pan of the acid weigher and extendin above the acid in the tank, a mixture receiver having a traversing por tion provided with an inlet, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversing portion of the receiver the means for dischar ing the acid and phosphate from the weig are being arranged to discharge separately into the mixer, and the mixer to discharge into the receiver through the inlet in the traversable portion of the receiver when the receiver is at rest and not discharging.

4. Apparatus for the preparation of super hosghate, comprising an acid Wei her, a p osp ate weigher associated with aiopper having a feeding conveyor and a surplus return conveyor, so that the feeding conveyor can operate continuously while the weigher operates intermittently, a mixture receiver having a traversing portion provided with an inlet, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversing portion of, the receiver, and a mixer adapted to receive charges from both weighers and discharge its contents in the receiver, the traversable portion of the receiver being disconnectible from the. mixer and traversed during the discharge of the mixture from the receiver.

5'. Apparatus for the preparation of superphosphate, comprising an acid Wei her, a phosp ate weigher a rotatable cylin rical mixing vessel provided at each end with a hollow coaxial extension mounted in bear ings, one extension being provided with a worm wheel gearing with a power driven worm, power driven rotary mixin arms arranged coaxially within the cylindrical vessel, a mixture receiver havin a traversing portion provided with an in ct, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversin portion of the receiver, and means for ellvering the weighed acid and phosphate into the receiver, the traversable portion of the receiver being disconnectible from the, mixer and traversed during the discharge of the mixture from the receiver.

6. Apparatus for the preparation of super-phosphate, comprising an acid weigher, a phosphate weigher, a rotatable cylindrical mixing vessel provided at each end with a hollow .coaxial extension mounted in bearings, one extension bein provided with a worm wheel gearing wit a power driven worm, power driven rotary mixing arms secured to a driving shaft passing through the extensions of the cylindrical vessel and having its projecting ends mounted in bearings, a mixture receiver having a traversing portion provided with an inlet, means for discharging the mixture from the receiver, means for traversing the traversing portion of the receiver, and means for delivering the weighed acid and phosphate into the receiver, the traversable portion of the receiver being disconnectible from the mixer and traversed during the discharge of the mixture from the receiver.

7. Apparatus for the preparation of Superfiho hate, comprising an acid weigher, a p osp ate weigher, a mixer adapted to receive acid and phosphate from the weifihers, a rectangular receiver having fixed en and bottom portions, a removable end, and side and top members mounted on a chassis on which is also mounted means for dischar ing the mixture and which is provided wit traversing mechanism and disconnectible means for discharging the contents of the mixer into the receiver, when the traversing mechanism is at rest and the mixture discharging means inoperative.

8. Apparatus for the preparation of super hos hate, comprising an acid weigher, a p osp ate weigher, a mixer adapted to receive the acid and phosphate from the weighers, means for discharging the mixture from a receiver mounted on a power operated chassis on which is also mounted side and top members of the receiver which fit against the sides of a fixed bottom and of an end member, the other end member being a vertically removable one, and disconnectible means for delivering the weighed acid and phosphate into the receiver when the traversmg mechanism is at rest and the mixture discharging means inoperative.

9. Apparatus for the preparation ofsuper hos hate, comprising an acid weigher, a p osp ate weigher a mixer. adapted to recelve acid and hosphate from the weighers, and a rectangular receiver having one fixed end extending vertically from a fixed bottom, a removable end and a traversing chassis carrying means for discharging the mixture and side and top members of the receiver, an inlet in the said top member having an inclined opening adapted to register with a similarly inclined opening on the delivery outlet of the mixer, so as to form disconnectible means for dischargingthe contents of the mixer into the receiver when the traversing mechanism is at rest and the mixture discharging means lnoperatlve.

In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

FREDERICK WILLIAM ROGERS WILLIAMS. 

